Common Indiana Probate Mistakes to Avoid

There is no statewide Indiana probate form set

The Indiana Judicial Branch forms library carries no petition for probate, no inventory, and no small estate affidavit. Indiana prescribes the content of those filings by statute in IC Title 29, and each county court publishes its own local probate forms. Ask the clerk of the circuit court before you assume a form number exists.

Two creditor clocks run, not one

Claims are barred three months after the first published notice of administration (IC 29-1-14-1(a)), and every barrable claim is barred nine months after the date of death whether or not notice was published (IC 29-1-14-1(d)). Publish late and the nine-month wall shortens your window.

The spousal election and the will contest both close in three months

A surviving spouse must elect against the will no later than three months after the order admitting the will to probate (IC 29-1-3-2), and a will contest must be filed in the same three months (IC 29-1-7-17). Calendar the date the will is admitted.

Real estate that must be sold to pay debts has a five-month trigger

A petition for administration must be filed within five months after death and letters must issue within seven months for the personal representative to sell Indiana real property to pay unsecured debts or administration costs (IC 29-1-7-15.1(b)).

The small estate limit is keyed to the date of death

IC 29-1-8-1 sets $100,000 for deaths after June 30, 2022, $50,000 for deaths after June 30, 2006 and before July 1, 2022, and $25,000 for deaths before July 1, 2006. Use the band for the decedent's date of death, not the current one.

An unrecorded transfer on death deed does nothing

Under IC 32-17-14-11 a transfer on death deed must be recorded in the county where the property sits before the owner's death, with the county auditor's endorsement. A signed but unrecorded deed is void and the property stays in the estate.